As passengers become increasingly concerned with their safety while using rideshare services, Uber has revealed that they’re committed to safety by implementing annual and recurring annual and ongoing multi-step driver safety screenings.
In a notice sent out to Uber’s customers, the company said, “Before any driver gets behind the wheel, they undergo a review of their driving record and criminal history which includes local, state, and national records.” The notice continued, “We proactively rerun driving and criminal history every year following a driver’s initial check. We use technology that fetches new criminal offenses using several sources, and we’re notified if an offense involving a driver is identified.”
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According to Uber, the screening is built into their platform.
“We use technology that proactively obtains criminal offenses from a number of data sources. If an offense involving an active driver is identified, we’ll review these notifications to determine whether they’re still eligible to drive with Uber,” their website reads.
The company also reiterates that passenger feedback is important and detrimental to the driver screening process. “Your ratings and feedback can also help drivers improve,” the company said. ” In some circumstances, [repeated] low ratings could lead to the deactivation of a driver’s account.”
Drivers are also required to provide updated photos of themselves periodically. Those photos are used to match against Uber’s on-file identification database to help make sure the right driver is behind the wheel.
To continue accessing the Uber app, drivers in the United States must pass their annual background checks. The checks review both the driver’s driving and criminal record. It’s worth noting that annual driving history reruns do not apply in NYC.